David, have to say: it did get bums on seats, and it did make significant money. The public liability insurance problem in Australia is no joke. There are community fetes, agricultural shows, flower shows, craft shows, markets, theatre groups, you name, that have all vanished because they can't find the (literally) thousands of dollars needed for liability insurance for each. Indeed, to meet the advance payment, the Director and the Publicity Officer desperately flogged off trash'n'treasure at every boot sale in the region for months beforehand!!!

So what's this got to do with Midinotate? Simple. Mountain Theatre Co. couldn't afford royalties for a first production. G&S is out of copyright, yes, but all recordings (eg D'Oyly Carte) are still in copyright. Even a couple hundred dollars was too much. No pianist: fled with the original musical director, and the second pressganged into singing. No karaoke recording, cost too much. I was a member and had the software I knew could do it. Voila! No financial cost (tho' I'm going to be now jealously guarding my own copyright on the arrangement & recordings)

And I'm now formally persuing Aspects of Love for possible production in 2008, not necessarily with the same company. I haven't died of terror yet tho' I'm losing weight fast...question will be whether I can orchestrate it myself or whether performance agreements will demand Lloyd Webber's orchestration only. Either way, Midinotate will cope!

Tim Fatchen
http://www.music.download.com/timfatchen
http://www.music.download.com/internetopera
http://www.soundclick.com/flyingtadpole